


Here There Be Monsters

by stover



Series: Wildfire [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Invasion, Blood and Gore, Depression, Disillusionment, Gen, Heavy Angst, Innocence Lost, Mecha Fights, Pacific Rim AU, Psychological Trauma, Technobabble, War, alternative universe, growing up sucks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 19:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12919107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stover/pseuds/stover
Summary: There are no heroes. In life, the monsters win.





	Here There Be Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> The first of a three-part Pacific Rim AU series, _Here There Be Monsters_ focuses on the losses sustained by the youngest member of the Jaeger Program's Ranger Corps—Keith Kogane.

When I was a kid, whenever I'd miss my parents, I'd look up at the stars. Wondered if they were watching the same sky. If somehow, they could follow every shooting star I wished on and find me. It sounds silly, but it was never silly to me as a kid. I find myself thinking about it even now, and sometimes—I can’t help but wonder if that’s how they found me.

I was nine when it started; a galaxy ship crashed into the Pacific Ocean. It opened a fissure between two tectonic plates and brought a portal between dimensions—the Breach. Whole islands were swallowed, disappearing in seconds. 

Seconds later, the first Kaiju made land in Hongcheon, an inland city turned port by impact waves alone. By the time the ships and jets took the Kaiju down six days later, tens of thousands of lives were lost. I was almost one of them. 

They rescued me from the waters, fishing me out from a sea of blue ice. I was holding my mother’s hand when they found me half-frozen on a floating table. They left my mother there. She didn’t make it. 

We were brought to Pyongyang, the new Korean capital. There, the dead were mourned. There, the attack was memorialized. The world moved on, and I was the platform that raised it up.

I was the miracle child who survived the attack. Kaiju Blue didn’t affect me the way it did everybody else. They put me in a facility where I was made a subject of study—a neural study, one that looked for synaptic anomalies in the brain after extensive trauma. Then, they put me in a program. They sent me all the way out to San Francisco, and on that day, another kaiju emerged from the Breach. It swam all the way out to Santa Monica. But this time, things were different. This time, the world was prepared.

While I was out playing lab rat, running through simulations, receiving stimulants, and getting every inch of my brain scanned, the world had come together, pooling its resources and throwing aside old rivalries. They knew, as they dove into my brain, into dozens of brains, that the world needed a new weapon. To fight monsters, the world needed monsters of its own. And thus, the Jaegers were born.

We started winning. I watched the first strike against the Kaiju from the window of the international airport in California. I watched the second strike from the TV hanging in the mess hall of a facility called the “Shatterdome.” I watched the third strike from the screens at LOCCENT Command, by the side of my commander as he spoke, only to me—

I watched the eightieth strike against the kaiju through the tinted visor of my helmet, with Rangers shouting praise through the comm and my commander sending waves of pride through our drift.

We got really good at it. Winning.

And then…

Then it all changed.

 

* * *

 

**YEAR: 2016  
** **LOCATION: San Francisco, USA**

 

There was an earthquake on his bed. It shook his mattress, then roughly slapped against his cheek. The earthquake had a voice. “Son,” it barked, “you best get up.”

Keith opened his eyes. The room was pitch black and silent, but a moving shape in the darkness grabbed his attention immediately. The Commander was in the room. “Is there another drill?” A yawn tore the last word away from his mouth. He lifted a hand to stifle it, but something soft suddenly hit his face. It smelled of fresh detergent. He pulled it off, and ended up staring groggily at his own shirt.

“No drill,” came the brusque response. “Movement in the breach.”

Keith felt as if he’d been doused in cold water. “We’re being deployed?”

The K-Watch monitor in their room came alive. A symbol flashed on screen and drowned the room in a wash of bright red. Short, electronic beeps sounded from the system as the harsh emergency buzzer echoed mercilessly out in the halls. The A. I. of the K-Watch made a call over the PA:  _ “Diablo Impact, report to Bay 08, level A-42. Kaiju. Category 3. Codename: Knifehead.” _

Keith ripped the sheets off, jumping down from the top bunk. He spared a glance at the bottom bunk, its sheets pulled tight over the thin mattress, still untouched. He turned to the Commander. He received his uniform very much in the same fashion as his shirt. Quickly, he yanked it off his face and started pulling it on. “What happened at the Anchorage briefing?”

“Never happened.” The Commander’s face became grim. “Anchorage is gone. Roof fell right through. By the time they brought me back here, we lost two Jaegers and three good rangers.”

Keith’s fingers froze on the zipper of his jumpsuit. He felt his own face mirror the look on the Commander’s face. “When?” he asked, as if that mattered. And it  _ did _ matter; at least, to him it did. “What time is it now?”

“An hour ago. It’s two o’clock now, right on the dot.”

“A. M.?”

The Commander grinned. “What else is new?”

A loud knock against the steel door made them both turn.  _ “Commander Thace! Diablo Impact is awaiting her rangers!” _

The Commander, already dressed, looked over his shoulder. “You ready, kid?”

Keith thought about the rangers at Anchorage, thought about the billions the world had invested in perfecting Carnage Kabuto and Berserker Eva. He thought about the hundreds of scientists, technicians, and engineers stationed at Anchorage. Then he thought about the families of the dead, thought about the rangers’ children. One of them was only nine years old.

Anger ran hot through his veins. Keith pulled the zipper of his jumpsuit up all the way and looked to the Commander. “I’m always ready.”

Commander Thace gave him a look. “Don’t get cocky, son.”

Keith straightened his shoulders. “Yes, sir.”

The Commander opened the hatch and swung open the door. They were greeted by the sight of Shatterdome officers scrambling madly to their posts. Together, they dove into the rushing stream of people. Technicians shouted over each other as new directives came in. Through their echoing calls, Keith learned that Diablo Impact was not the only Jaeger preparing for the drop. This was confirmed when he saw two Rangers standing before the elevator that would lead to the southern bay.

The Rangers stood at attention just as Keith and the Commander came round the corner of the hall. They were both suited in the standard black jumpsuits of the San Francisco Shatterdome, with only one minor detail of difference—the patch above their hearts was gold while Keith and the Commander’s were red.

The larger of the two greeted them first. “Commander Thace, sir!” His face was screwed tight with a look of one part severity, two parts fear. He was also puffing out his chest.

The other ranger only smiled and gave a polite nod. “Good morning, sir.”

Commander Thace raised a hand. “At ease, rangers.” 

The ranger puffing out his chest exhaled, revealing that he’d been sucking in his gut as well. “Whew…! Thank you, sir.”

The Commander pressed a panel on the wall to open the doors leading into Bay 08. The metal rings around the entrance clinked as they came undone and opened up a tunnel into the docking area. “Chin up, Garrett. You’re acting like it’s your first drop! You boys’ve been spilling Kaiju Blue all over the Pacific. Don’t tell me I imagined seeing you and Shirogane gut that Kaiju alive just last week. ”

Ranger Garrett grinned broadly. “No, sir! That was  _ definitely  _ real.”

The doors to the elevators opened with a soft mechanical whirr. The lights inside flicked on. Ranger Shirogane saluted the Commander. 

“We look forward to fighting by your side, sir,” said Ranger Shirogane. Beside him, Ranger Garrett also gave a salute.

Commander Thace returned the salute. “Likewise.”

The two rangers entered the elevator. As the doors shut, Ranger Shirogane suddenly reached out to stop the doors from closing. He looked to Keith with a fond smile. “You’re doing good out there, Keith.”

Before he could respond, Ranger Shirogane was shoved aside with a surprised oof. Another hand slapped against the doors, propping them open with enough force for the automatic switch to disable and let the doors slide open again. Ranger Garrett was flashing him a grin and a thumbs up. “Yeah, you are! Youngest ranger on the corps, and already kicking some major Kaiju ass! …Uh,  _ butt. _ Excuse me, sir.” 

The Commander only chuckled.

Keith gave the two rangers a warm look. “Thanks, Hunk. Shiro.” Keith felt Commander Thace’s hand on his shoulder, a sign that they needed to make haste. Keith turned towards the tunnel, making his way in. But he looked to his left, exchanging one last look with the other SanFran Shatterdome rangers before they parted. Both rangers held out two fingers in a V as he walked away. Quietly, he raised two fingers and mirrored the gesture with a smile.

“Don’t go celebrating victories before you’ve made them, son.”

Keith dropped his hand and his smile, turning back with a firm nod. “Yes, sir.”

As soon as they entered the tunnel, it came to life. Lights flashed and clicked overhead and down their sides. The metal rings making up the length of the walkway began to clank and churn, allowing lasers to scan them up and down as they crossed the tunnel. Keith heard the computers chirping as each scan confirmed their identities.

_ “Recognized: Thace Nolan, Ranger Zero-Three. Jaeger: Diablo Impact. Recognized: Keith Kogane, Ranger Eighty-eight. Jaeger: Diablo Impact.” _

At the far end of the tunnel, a wall marked “BAY 08” in white clunked heavily before opening up. When they entered through the doors, the lights in the tunnel shut off with a hollow, echoing snap, and the door to Bay-08 began to swing shut. It had hardly closed when drivesuit technicians swarmed them from all sides. Directives mixed with reminders and greetings, creating a whirlwind of voices in the tight space of the drivesuit room. 

_ “Commander Thace! This way, please.” _

_ “Unlock the drive suits! And don’t forget to use the new neural sensors!” _

_ “Watch your step! Keith, can you come this way?” _

_ “Who drank my coffee?!” _

They were led to the middle of the room, and holographic monitors surrounded them claustrophobically. The floor’s white panels glowed from the lights overhead, where a multitude of tools hung from spiraling wires. Within seconds, the technicians had them stripped and fitted into neoprene circuitry suits. Then, as quickly as they’d swarmed around them, they dispersed when a door on the far side of the bay clicked open with a hiss.

“Happy 2-AM, rangers,” rang a strong, clear voice. Keith recognized it to belong to the lead technician of the San Francisco Shatterdome’s western bay. “Another bright and early day, it looks like. Don’t you just love it?” The lead technician was putting on a headset as she walked into the room from the technician’s hall. She hardly bat an eyelash at the sight of the Jaeger Academy Commander in her drivesuit room. “It’s a wonder I look this good without a proper sleep schedule.”

“The PPDC appreciates all of your hard work, Ms. Chandra,” said the Commander, amusement laced in his voice.

“Nyma,” the lead technician said. “As I’m sure I’ve told you many times, Commander, I don’t like being called ‘Miss Chandra.’ I don’t intend to become my mother anytime soon.”

The Commander chuckled. “Duly noted.” 

Not one to waste time, Nyma faced them both and gave them a directive. “Turn forward. Keep your eyes up.”

Keith and the Commander moved in sync, stepping with their left foot first and spinning left on the balls of their feet.

Nyma grinned. “That ghost-drifting sure is freaky.”

Red metal plates clamped over their back and shoulders. The chest plate came last, and technicians flocked around them with micro-drills and a dozen other tools to piece together their drivesuits. Keith watched the floor open to push up a platform with a metal case resting on top. 

“Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend,” Nyma said as she opened the case herself, revealing a gleaming set of metal spinal clamps, “But these sparkling babies are my pride and joy.”

They looked different from the last set they used, and Keith assumed these were the new neural sensors he’d heard earlier.

“You’re looking at about 2 billion dollars worth of research here, gentlemen. You think you know what it’s like to sync with a Jaeger? Well, guess again. With these new babies, you’ll be able to feel even the wind blowing on the face of a Jaeger.” 

Technicians flocked around them again, lifting the metal spinal clamps out of their cases and aligning each to its proper place on the back of their suits.

Commander Thace frowned. “Sounds like a double-edged sword,” he said. Keith agreed.

Nyma tsked. “I’m not the lead technician for nothing, Commander. Everything is adjustable from your end and mine.” She placed her hands at her hips. “Drivesuit helmets on.”

No sooner had she said that, someone came through the space between them from behind to hold a helmet out in each hand. Keith pulled the helmet carefully over his head. Thick, yellow liquid began to chug into the helmet as he held his breath.

Nyma turned her attention to her drivesuit technicians. “Monitor the relay gel. Don’t take your eyes off the circuitry data. Make sure every single part of that suit is calibrated. I don’t want to see even a single thread out of sync.”

“Data on helmet normal,” came an immediate reply. “Dispersing relay gel into circuitry suits…”

The room slowly came back into view as the relay gel flushed from his helmet and injected into his suit. He felt the familiar sensation of his nerves tingling and pulling to reach out to the outer parts of the drivesuit. 

“Circuitry data processing… Dispersion complete. All data ready for main calibration at the Conn-Pod. We’re ready to go, ma’am.”

Nyma’s next words were spoken directly into the mic of her headset. “They’re all yours, Rolo.” She flipped the mic up and turned to the technician on standby at the Conn-Pod entrance. “Initiate Conn-Pod ranger alignment.” Finally, she turned back to them, face stern. “Good luck, rangers.”

They were led into the Conn-Pod, where two hydraulic back braces were lowered from the ceiling. Below it, the panels on the floor opened up to reveal a set of hydraulic pedals. The Commander stepped into the set of pedals for the right hemisphere while Keith carefully aligned his feet with the pedals for the set on the left. 

Conn-Pod technicians followed them closely, connecting the overhead braces to the backs of their drive suits with whirring power tools. Long, modular arm pieces detached from the braces with a hiss.

“Arms at your sides, please. Bend at the elbow.”

Keith followed the instructions of the soft-spoken technician. He felt the needle of both arm pieces insert through the elbow of his drivesuit and continue down the plating on his forearm. Seconds later, a metal clamp tightened around both of his wrists and his bayard floated up from its resting panel on the floor beside their feet to magnetize to his left hand. It sent a warm flow of energy into him as it turned on, its light a soft glow in the small space of the Jaeger’s cockpit.

_ “Gooood morning, gentlemen,”  _ came a familiar drawl through the Conn-Pod’s communication system. _ “How’re you fellas doing on this fine Monday morning?” _

Keith hit the call button on the control pad with a grin. “Thought you didn’t do Mondays, Rolo.”

_ “I don’t. Can’t say I’m happy to be here, even if it’s to take a peek at your brain waves on the big screen. But looks like I don’t have a choice, seeing as how the Kaiju ignored my little memo from last month. What a rude bunch of ass—”  _ Rolo’s lazy drawl was suddenly cut short. When he spoke next, his voice was as clear and professional as a Jaeger Academy trainee speaking to a ranking officer.  _ “LOCCENT Commander Allura Lyon on deck. Time, 2:32 AM. Date, June 20th, 2016. Rangers Thace Nolan and Keith Kogane ready for drop clearance.” _

As Rolo rattled off the specifics, Commander Thace gave a hearty laugh. Keith was glad he’d taken his hand off the call button. If not for that, the LOCCENT Commander would’ve definitely heard the Commander's laugh.

“That’s some presence she’s got,” said the Commander. “She’ll make a great Marshall one day.”

Keith thought so too. There was no one else better suited for the role.

They heard the door to the Conn-Pod shut with a resounding boom. With it, his heart started pounding fiercely in his chest. Keith gripped his hand around his bayard. 

An icon lit up in red on their control pad, indicating that their Conn-Pod was ready to be fitted to the Jaeger.

Commander Thace reached up to press a finger to the call button.

Keith blurted out, “Can I call it?”

With a fond expression, the Commander motioned to the control pad. “All yours.”

Keith jammed his finger on the call button. He took a deep breath. “Diablo Impact, ready for the drop!” As soon as his finger left the control pad, he heard the Commander make a brief noise of discomfort.

“I hate this part.”

Keith grinned. “That’s why it’s my favorite.”

“You cheeky little—”

Only Keith heard the Commander’s choked scream when the Conn-Pod shot down eighty feet. Their descent ended as swiftly as it began; the mechanics that sent them rocketing down slowed their fall until the Conn-Pod deposited them gently into their Jaeger with loud hiss.

As the Conn-Pod was being secured to the body of the Jaeger suit, Commander Thace swore under his breath. “Two billion dollars on a new neural sensor, and they can’t spare a few hundred to have the drivesuit room on level with the Jaegers?” 

Before Keith could remark, Rolo’s voice returned through the comm system. _ “Initiating pilot-to-pilot sequence.” _

The voice of Diablo Impact’s A. I. echoed in the interior of the Conn-Pod.  _ “Pilot-to-pilot protocol sequence connecting… Connection confirmed. Ranger zero-three and Ranger eighty-eight ready to drift.” _

“Ready to drift, my ass,” Commander Thace groaned, his face bathed by the soft red glow of holographic visuals blinking inside the Conn-Pod. “I feel like shit. This is why I keep telling them to relocate the drivesuit room to the fourth floor.”

Keith bit down on his lip to keep from laughing. He redirected his humor elsewhere, pointed out something Shiro had mentioned when this matter was first brought up. “The entire Kwoon room would have to be moved all the way up.”

“So be it, then. I’m not a cadet. I get to take the elevators.” Then, the Commander turned to face him. “Aren’t  _ you _ glad to have graduated early?”

Keith agreed to this with a laugh.

Commander Thace reached up to the control panel and hit a button. “Diablo Impact is ready to align,” he confirmed.

A smooth, steady voice filtered through the comm system.  _ “Greetings, rangers. This is your LOCCENT Mission Controller speaking. Prepare for neural handshake, starting in fifteen.” _

Rolo was quick to follow-up.  _ “Fifteen seconds. Fourteen seconds. Thirteen…” _

“You know, last time we drifted,” Keith started, making the Commander turn to look at him, “you said you couldn’t hike for a week after seeing what kind of spider crawled down my shirt that one day. You sure you’re ready for that again, sir?”

_ “…Twelve… Eleven… Ten…” _

The Commander gave a lopsided grin. “Son, I know what I’m about.”

_ “Nine… Eight… Seven… Six…” _

“Don’t get cocky, sir,” Keith dared to say with a smirk.

_ “Five… Four… Three… Two…” _

The Commander threw his head back and laughed.

_ “One!” _

_ “Neural han d s h a k e   i n i t  i  a  t   i   n   g— _

The voice plunged them deep into bright, blue waves that blackened with the night. He was cold. The water was everywhere, turning his whole shirt blue; the hand he was holding was— His wife’s frail hand; she coughed into a handkerchief. She pulled it away; dread dropped like a stone into his stomach when he saw that it was stained with— Red vials lined the pull-out tray attached to the operating table. Everything in those vials came from him; all of that was his blood. If he swung his legs like so, he could make the entire tray move and hear the vials— Clink, clink, clink; the coffin was shut at long last, and he could see the Marshall’s face no more. A tiny hand squeezed his own; Allura stood at his side, her face molded with a level of stoicism unnerving for a girl of twelve. Her cheeks, still round and soft, were stained with— Tears pricked at his eyes when his arm twisted too far. His partner dropped him immediately, apologizing profusely but he just laughed and said  _ don’t worry, Shiro, this is a spar, you can’t keep treating me like I’m made of— _ Glass shattered overhead like rain. A monstrous roar ripped through his eardrums. The sight of an ungodly beast wrecking havoc in his home city was a knife in his heart; his partner shouted,  _ C’mon, Thace! Don’t freeze up on me! Think about your _ — Kids laughed and chased each other around the field. He played catch with one of them, someone whose name he did not know. The kid coughed every time he caught the ball, and then suddenly the kid couldn’t stop coughing and fell down and then he didn’t cough at— All eyes were on him when he introduced the boy to his right.  _ This is Keith, _ he said, feeling the boy stand at attention with his back like a rod and his eyes open wide,  _ From now on he’ll be part of t h e   t    e   a     m—” _

They were bathed in a soft white light. Keith blinked opened his eyes to the sight of two holographic screens across Diablo Impact’s digital HUD. 

_ “Neutral handshake strong and holding.” _

A trickle of amusement filtered through his mind, and Keith immediately groaned. Beside, him, he found the Commander laughing. 

“I didn’t know you had to piss that badly when you first met the Marshall. No wonder you ran right off!”

Keith tried to fight the wave of embarrassment to keep the Commander from noticing. But he knew it was no use; they were too deep in the drift now to hide anything.

_ “Rangers. Waiting for calibration.” _

At the sound of Allura’s voice, they jumped back into action.

“Right hemisphere calibrating,” Commander Thace announced, lifting the bayard in his right hand. Streams of data encircled his hand, a red and golden light glowing softly in the dark. 

Keith followed suit, lifting his own bayard in the same way the Commander did. “Left hemisphere calibrating.” He watched the streams move around his left hand and marveled at the fact that this was how two ordinary people got a two-hundred and eighty-foot tall mechanical beast to function. The technology behind the Jaegers never failed to amaze him. 

“If you’re amazed by that, wait until you see the upgrades,” Commander Thace boasted, lifting his left fist parallel to his chest; Keith’s left arm moved in tandem to the Commander's. “You won’t believe it ‘til you see it.”

Keith completed their customary start to battle, raising his right fist to touch against his left. Outside the Conn-Pod, there was the heavy echoing boom of metal against metal. “Already saw it in the drift, sir.” 

Commander Thace looked proudly at Keith. “That you have.”

They heard LOCCENT Command call to them.  _ “Rangers, your orders are to hold the Miracle Mile off San Francisco. We’ve received dual signatures fast approaching—” _

_ “Dual _ signatures?” Keith repeated, looking to Commander Thace. Already, a large radar screen spread across the front of their dashboard, a webbed grid that tracked two white, blinking dots that moved rapidly inward from the eastern seas. The Commander was absolutely silent.

_ “Mammoth Apostle, you’ll take on Knifehead eighty miles from the shore. Do  _ not  _ engage until you’re fully out eighty miles, do you understand?” _

Keith heard Shiro’s voice filter through the system.  _ “Yes, ma’am.” _

_ “Diablo Impact—You will hold the second beast at bay. Another category 3—Wreckage.”  _

Shock hit Keith like a truck through the drift, the only sound to even suggest that it had happened a sharp intake of breath from the Commander.

Allura’s voice softened. _ “We were lucky to spot it early on this time around. You have Dr. Holt to thank, Commander.” _

Commander Thace spoke unwaveringly, “Send my gratitude to him, if you may.”

_ “Of course.” _ The blue-white light on the control pad remained bright, indicating LOCCENT’s lingering presence. Finally, Allura resumed speaking.  _ “Good luck, Rangers.” _ And with that, the light went off.

A ringing silence followed soon after LOCCENT Command ended their call. The emptiness borne from the absence of sound other than the soft chirruping from the sensors made time seem to stretch without end. Keith felt the severity of their silence in the heavy churning of his stomach. There was an iron stone in his chest pressing painfully into his gut; this, he recognized as that which belonged to the Commander, for never before the drift had Keith experienced dread and fear in this way.

Keith knew the Commander felt as such not for his own self, but for Keith’s; for five years ago, Diablo Impact had lost its original right-hemisphere, and Thace Nolan had lost his partner. And now, the Commander had a sixteen-year-old under his wing.

“You’re better, now,” said Keith, and as he spoke the metal gates of the drop zone clanked open and a wild storm beat heavily against their Jaeger. “ _ We’re _ better,” Keith spoke louder, almost shouting, “Things are different, now. We’ll win this.”

The Commander turned to him, fixing a stern look upon him.

Keith recognized the look; he stopped speaking. When the Commander spoke, it made his stomach churn.

“I told you once, and I’ll say it again—don’t go celebrating victories you haven’t won. We’ve already lost three good rangers tonight.” The Commander turned away, facing far ahead. “And three’s enough. We won’t be losing any more. Keep up with me and do what I tell you. Everything’s gonna be alright.”

Thunder cracked, the sound muffled and thick through the metal body of Diablo Impact, and the storm churned the waves around their Jaeger’s feet as dread churned the acid in Keith’s stomach.

“Let’s move.”

They ventured out, into the ocean, each step heavy and pounding, gravity tugging them down with every lumbering, clunking step they took toward the Kaiju and making Keith feel as if the earth had shackled iron chains around his chest.

 

* * *

 

The kaiju struck at them first. One of its massive claws swung down so fast, they couldn’t bring their arms up to block it. It bashed against the side of their Conn-Pod; a crack spidered across the eyes of their Jaeger, flooding the digital HUD with a web of translucent lines.

“Arms up! Don’t let it reach the cockpit again!”

Keith didn’t have to be told twice. They lifted their arms to their face and hunched slightly forward. Keith’s body moved with practiced ease; taking whatever hits they needed to and striking fast and hard each time there was an opening. The exchange of blows dragged on for what felt like hours.

“Left!”

At the Commander’s shout, they swung to the side on their left heel just as the kaiju charged forward. It tackled nothing and ended up throwing itself into the sea with an enraged roar.

“Hold your ground!”

The earth shook as the great beast fell. Adrenaline surged through Keith’s body as he heard the Commander’s next orders.

“Move, move, move!”

Keith pumped his legs, eyes trained on the body of the kaiju still struggling to rise from its heavy fall. They ran the Jaeger through stormy waters, a crack of lightening illuminating the great creature’s thick hide and massive shape in the dark.

Waves crashed against them. Keith readied himself to evade at the Commander’s order, preparing himself to move either left or right. But the Commander had other ideas.

“The only way to take this one down is to hit it where it’s weak,” Commander Thace shouted over the howling winds. “That thing’s covered in armor everywhere except for a band around the middle. Otherwise, it’d never be able to get up when it falls.” The Commander takes on a firm, grounded stance. “We’re meeting this thing head-on, so get ready!”

Keith shifted his weight to his feet, maintaining the same stance as the Commander. His eyes never left the terrifying face of the kaiju as it launched itself forward.

“Here it comes!”

They met in a violent clash of claws and heavy fists. Keith thought for one fearful second that they would be knocked over, but it was swallowed by the persistent will of the Commander. The feet of their Jaeger planted firmly into the seabed, digging deep grooves as they were pushed along the sea floor.

A dozen plans spilled in from the drift, every single one of them from the Commander. Keith felt two of them rise to the forefront. Both of them involved the same weapon.

“Charge the canon!” Keith shouted.

Commander Thace flipped a switch on his control pad. “Gladly!” He slammed a panel with the back of his right hand. The blue streams of data circling his bayard at once started to glow.

They grappled against it; Keith felt the enormous weight of the kaiju as it wrestled them, beating its iron-hard, leathery claws against their sides as it pushed against them. Red warning signs flooded the digital HUD, as angry as the monstrous beast roaring before them. At this rate, he knew Diablo Impact wouldn’t hold out for much longer. They both knew.

“How much longer?” he demanded, fisting his hand around his bayard.

“Almost there!” The Commander snarled as they hammered the charging canon repeatedly against the side of the kaiju’s head. “Get out the—”

“Sword!” Keith finished, slamming his bayard into a slit on the panel above his shoulder. He heard a wild whirring of machinery echoing as loudly as the thundering storms outside. And soon, he felt it—a heavy clinking of metal ratting down his arm as the entire limb re-modeled itself into a shape he’d only imagined.

Together, they pulled back the left arm of their Jaeger.

“Now!” “Do it!”

They thrust forward and plunged the blade through. They pierced the beast from the side, skewering it once all the way through, and then once more. A guttural cry shook the skies as they twisted the blade inside the massive beast. The kaiju’s movements staggered; it claws could only hold fast to where they last were, piercing deeply through the metal on their right shoulder and chest. 

Keith didn’t have time to bite back a scream. Layered with it was the Commander’s own cry of pain. And then, the blue lights around the Commander’s bayard suddenly sparked white. It was ready.

“The cannon!” roared the Commander, and Keith gave a fierce battlecry of his own as they pulled the sword out of the kaiju, slammed the canon against its other side, and fired relentlessly into the open wound.

Electric blue splattered everywhere, alighting the black seas. In the brief lull of battle, Keith let the pain of the Jaeger’s shoulder wash through the drift; along with it was the searing burn of the kaiju’s claws still hooked deeply into their chest. Alarms from their Jaeger’s system blared in his ears; the kaiju was falling back, and it was starting to drag them down with it.

Keith felt a surge of triumphant respite course through his veins. Suddenly, the face of a man flashed before his eyes as if he were in a dream. Ulaz, he recognized; the Commander’s first partner, now long dead. It was soon replaced by the anguished face of a kaiju as it clawed at their Jaeger.

“Not this time,” said the Commander as Keith hissed an angry  _ “Fuck off” _ through his teeth.

They swung the sword forward. Just as they were bringing the blade to chop down on the kaiju’s wrist, 

And then the unthinkable happened.

With a screaming roar, the kaiju lunged forward, sank its teeth and claws into the left shoulder of their Jaeger, and tore out the entire limb.

Keith screamed. A white-hot explosion of pain consumed his whole body, his whole mind. He felt it all leak through the drift; a flare of panic and horror plunged into his mind like the sword they’d lost, the Commander’s own pain a violent whiplash that circled back to the haunting sensation of having a limb ripped out by force.

“Keith! Keith, listen to me—!”

An ungodly scream ripped in his ears as the kaiju hammered into them again, and their shattered resolve was useless to fight against it. He felt them falling backwards, felt them hit the surface of the sea, felt them sink deep into wild, black water.

Alarms blared everywhere; the Conn-Pod was washed in red and white as sensors screamed and cried for attention. Worse was the sight of the digital HUD; the crackling web of lines was creaking and groaning. Slivers of the sea trickled into the cockpit.

There was no time for recovery. The kaiju came back to tear into them again, twisting its claws into the punctured holes of the Jaeger’s chest-plate, clenching tight and p u l l i n g—

He couldn’t breathe; he couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t hear—there was too much noise, everywhere; the wrenching of metal, the sparking of wires, the blaring of alarms, the groaning and cracking of the windshield, the screaming—so,  _ so _ much screaming—

Something spilled onto the front his drivesuit, hot and wet. A rancid stench slapped him to his senses. He’d thrown up.

“Keith,” Commander Thace rasped his name, the sound somehow reaching his ears over the screaming alarms. The Commander sounded angry; furious, even. It made Keith freeze. Through the cracked visor of his helmet, Keith could see the intensity of the Commander’s gaze on him. The Commander’s next words filtered through the drift and seeded in his heart before Keith actually heard them with his ears. 

“You’re gonna do great things for the world. No matter what, always remember this — I’m proud of you.”

Keith knew what was coming. “Wait, no,” he pleaded, “You can’t—”

“I love you, son.”

The digital HUD finally gave. Water exploded inside the cockpit. The Commander punched the eject button on Keith’s control pad.

Keith never saw him again.


End file.
